Black swampsnake, Mud snake, Red-bellied mud snake, Swamp snake
The Black swamp snake (Liodytes pygaea) is a nonvenomous snake found in the southeastern United States. This snake is secretive and is reraly seen. It lives in a wide variaty of open aquatic habitats where it hunts prey and hides from danger.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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PiscivoresA piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. Piscivorous is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophagous. Fish were the die...
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VermivorousVermivore (from Latin vermi, meaning "worm" and vorare, "to devour") is a zoological term for animals that eat worms (including annelids, nematodes...
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OvoviviparousOvoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous an...
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AquaticAn aquatic animal is an animal, either vertebrate or invertebrate, which lives in water for most or all of its life. It may breathe air or extract ...
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PredatorPredators are animals that kill and eat other organisms, their prey. Predators may actively search for or pursue prey or wait for it, often conceal...
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SolitaryNo
Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe Black swamp snake is a small, thin snake, usually 25-38 cm (10-15 in) long (including tail); the record size is 55 cm (22 in). It is uniformly black on the dorsum and has a bright orange or red belly.
Black swamp snakes can be found in the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida on the east coast of the United States. They prefer to live in swampland habitats, wet prairies, marshes, bogs, and ponds with abundant vegetation.
Black swamp snakes are very secretive and almost entirely aquatic. They spend most of their time in water and hide among dense vegetation in tannic cypress swamps or in debris at the water's edge. They may sometimes be seen crossing roads or traveling short distances on land after heavy summer rains. Black swamp snakes are active during the day and at night searching for prey among submerged vegetation. They are solitary creatures and when sensing any sign of danger prefer to flee.
Black swamp snakes are carnivores (piscivores, vermivores). They mainly eat small fish, tadpoles, frogs, salamanders, sirens, amphiumas, and invertebrates, such as leeches and earthworms.
Black swamp snakes are ovoviviparous and females give birth to live young directly in shallow water. Unlike many snakes, females feed actively while gravid, suggesting that they may pass nutrients directly on to the young. They typically give birth to up to 23 live young in the late summer. Newborns are 11-14 cm (4¼-5⅜ in) long (including tail).
There are no major threats to Black swamp snakes at present. Locally, they suffer from the loss and degradation of their wetland habitat.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Black swamp snake total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, and its numbers today are stable.
